Artist’s Back to Basic – July 2019

When I was comfortable that the

sketch was the right backbone for the

painting, I laid it flat on the deck and –

with my old fashioned men’s shaving

brush – flicked off the excess charcoal.

Next I sprayed with fixative and

allowed the canvas a day to fully dry.

STEP TWO

I laid on a light turps wash of

Cadmium Orange that would blend

or rub away, depending on my needs

for an area. Besides, a wash removes

the blandness from the canvas and

gets an early excitement going.

STEP THREE

This is what I call the ‘underpants’

stage. It makes or breaks the final

work. Here I laid in the broad masses

of colours I wanted to play under the

finished layers – peeping through,

in a sense. It was more than a stain

and less than a discreet layer. It

needed to thoroughly dry before

proceeding, and that took two days.

I love to use as much of the rainbow

as my eyes perceive. Nothing, not

even one blade of grass, is just one

colour; and it is the joy of the artist

to allow visual senses full flight to

achieve a work of beauty. There

is never a need to be stingy with

colour. Well ... that’s my take on it.

STEP FOUR

Fun things started to happen here.

The drover took on substance and

I began work on the cattle as they

jostled and bumped each other

along the road. Basic shapes with

emphasis on darks and lights quickly

progressed to interactions in the herd.

The warm highlights at play on the

beasts’ backs were complemented

by the cooler lights in their faces

and reflections from the track.

Shapes and emphasis on the

canvas periphery came next. A cattle

dog appeared from nowhere – he lived

but for a day, meeting his ultimate

demise with all the dignity of these

faithful friends. An artist must always

be on guard for such unexpected

visitors. They may ‘seem like a good

idea at the time’ but can ultimately

ruin a good composition. I also found

a very pregnant cow leading the

herd – she gave birth very rapidly!

STEP FIVE

Careful checking of edges now kept

the sense of movement and directed

the viewer’s eye. The secondary areas

were completed and checked again

• to be sure that both the hues and
  the values played well off each other.
  This was a large painting with a lot of
  shapes and quite an extensive palette.

Step 4

Step 3

“I often work from

plein air sketches

done with oil crayons

and combined with

photographic references.

However ‘Down the

Barcoo’ arrived in my

favourite way – just as

an almost finished image

in my mind’s eye.”

Back to Basics